Book Review: Under the Gold Dome: an Insider's View of the Connecticut Legislature

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut,United States
• Publication year: 2021
• Citation: Vol. 77 Pg. 155
• Pages: 155

Connecticut Bar JournalVolume 77.

77 CBJ 155. BOOK REVIEW: UNDER THE GOLD DOME: AN INSIDER'S VIEW OF THE CONNECTICUT LEGISLATURE

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155

BOOK REVIEW: UNDER THE GOLD DOME: AN INSIDER'S VIEW OF THE CONNECTICUT LEGISLATURE

ROBERT SATTER, Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, New Haven, Connecticut, 2004, 280 pp

In this interesting, insightful and thoroughly researched book, Judge Robert Satter of the Connecticut Superior Court offers an excellent lesson in state government. Under the Gold Dome should be required reading for every member of the Connecticut General Assembly, particularly newly elected legislators, and should be a text in any college course on Connecticut state government. The book is "an insider's view" because Judge Satter served as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1959-1975 and also served as counsel to the Democratic party in the legislature. The book is based not only on his own experience but also on interviews with prominent Connecticut politicians, such as former Governor John Rowland and now Lt. Governor Kevin Sullivan, and other people who have followed the General Assembly in the last several decades.

There is one passage in the book that is especially pleasing to this reviewer. On page 10, in a discussion about the legislative staff, Judge Satter writes that John Gerardo, "Republican House clerk from 1960 to 1966, had a very wry sense of humor that caused bursts of laughter in the House" when he read the bills being proposed. This reviewer was associated with Attorney Gerardo in his Torrington law office in the mid-1980s and experienced that wry sense of humor.

In this book Judge Satter discusses the structure of the legislature, including the committee system and how a bill becomes a law; the history of the legislature;(fn1) the political parties and their leadership; the budget process; the relationship between the General Assembly and the governor...